July 1, 2025

[On Canada] We are one of the oldest democracies in the world—152 years without a civil war or coup d’état. Look around at our allies. Compare.

John Ralston Saul (1947– ), Canadian political philosopher, in The Globe and Mail, 24 March 2000, Colombo p.154

Did you know that it was the American Civil War that led four of the British colonies in North America to join together in what became the Dominion of Canada? Is there another example of one country’s disunity causing another’s union?

One of the true curiosities of Canadian history is the political party—still known in some parts of the country by the oxymoronic title “Progressive Conservative”—that governed the province of Ontario, without interruption, from 1943 to 1985. The secret is in the name.